Published: July
7, 2015Vandal
jailed after £10,000 of damage to Burnham seafront gardens

A
local man who caused £10,000 of damage to Burnham-On-Sea's
Marine Cove gardens has been jailed.

Jesse
Thorne pleaded guilty to criminal damage when he appeared at Taunton
Crown Court and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

It
follows a night of damage at the seafront gardens in October 2013,
pictured here.

A
spokesperson for Sedgemoor District Council said on Monday: "We
would like to thank Avon and Somerset Police for their diligence
with the case and bringing the culprit to justice."

"We
would also like to make special mention of the Sedgemoor District
Council CCTV staff who on the night of the incident used CCTV
to record the vandalism, alert Police and then track the offender
as he left the scene."

"This
evidence and support to the Police proved invaluable on the night
of the event and during the prosecution process and has resulted
in a successful conviction."

Two
light columns were toppled, complete with stone foundation slabs,
a Windsor Heritage lantern was shattered on its standing light
column, and two tiers of stone paving were torn from the steps
leading to the lion's fountain.

Other
damage included two timber benches being ripped from their ground
fixings and thrown into the pool, and the centrepiece cherub in
the pool also being damaged. The sundial was also pushed over
and the dial removed from its plinth.

The
spokesperson said the £10,000 of repairs had been funded
by the council.

Sedgemoor's
staff launched a clean-up operation after the incident

The
scene of the damage in Marine Cove

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